Detailed Description

The QFuture class represents the result of an asynchronous computation.

To start a computation, use one of the APIs in the Qt Concurrent framework.

QFuture allows threads to be synchronized against one or more results which will be ready at a later point in time. The result can be of any type that has a default constructor and a copy constructor. If a result is not available at the time of calling the result(), resultAt(), or results() functions, QFuture will wait until the result becomes available. You can use the isResultReadyAt() function to determine if a result is ready or not. For QFuture objects that report more than one result, the resultCount() function returns the number of continuous results. This means that it is always safe to iterate through the results from 0 to resultCount().

QFuture also offers ways to interact with a runnning computation. For instance, the computation can be canceled with the cancel() function. To pause the computation, use the setPaused() function or one of the pause(), resume(), or togglePaused() convenience functions. Be aware that not all asynchronous computations can be canceled or paused. For example, the future returned by QtConcurrent::run() cannot be canceled; but the future returned by QtConcurrent::mappedReduced() can.

QFuture is a lightweight reference counted class that can be passed by value.

QFuture<void> is specialized to not contain any of the result fetching functions. Any QFuture<T> can be assigned or copied into a QFuture<void> as well. This is useful if only status or progress information is needed - not the actual result data.

To interact with running tasks using signals and slots, use QFutureWatcher.

QFuture::QFuture()

void QFuture::cancel()

Cancels the asynchronous computation represented by this future. Note that the cancelation is asynchronous. Use waitForFinished() after calling cancel() when you need synchronous cancelation.

Results currently available may still be accessed on a canceled future, but new results will not become available after calling this function. Any QFutureWatcher object that is watching this future will not deliver progress and result ready signals on a canceled future.

Be aware that not all asynchronous computations can be canceled. For example, the future returned by QtConcurrent::run() cannot be canceled; but the future returned by QtConcurrent::mappedReduced() can.

int QFuture::progressValue() const

T QFuture::result() const

Returns the first result in the future. If the result is not immediately available, this function will block and wait for the result to become available. This is a convenience method for calling resultAt(0).

int QFuture::resultCount() const

Returns the number of continuous results available in this future. The real number of results stored might be different from this value, due to gaps in the result set. It is always safe to iterate through the results from 0 to resultCount().

void QFuture::resume()

void QFuture::setPaused(boolpaused)

If paused is true, this function pauses the asynchronous computation represented by the future. If the computation is already paused, this function does nothing. Any QFutureWatcher object that is watching this future will stop delivering progress and result ready signals while the future is paused. Signal delivery will continue once the future is resumed.

If paused is false, this function resumes the asynchronous computation. If the computation was not previously paused, this function does nothing.

Be aware that not all computations can be paused. For example, the future returned by QtConcurrent::run() cannot be paused; but the future returned by QtConcurrent::mappedReduced() can.

void QFuture::togglePaused()

Toggles the paused state of the asynchronous computation. In other words, if the computation is currently paused, calling this function resumes it; if the computation is running, it is paused. This is a convenience method for calling setPaused(!isPaused()).

void QFuture::waitForFinished()

Waits for the asynchronous computation to finish (including cancel()ed computations).

QFuture::operator T() const

Returns the first result in the future. If the result is not immediately available, this function will block and wait for the result to become available. This is a convenience method for calling result() or resultAt(0).